Patch Management Best Practices

Owning a computer, especially multiple ones for a business, means that you and the IT department have a lot of work. Not only do you need to have policies in place to ensure that people don't visit the wrong sites, but you also have to upload, download and make sure everything runs smoothly. Patch management is a complicated process, and it can't be explained in just a few sentences. However, there are six steps to ensure best practices, making it a little easier to keep computers secure.

The first step for patch management best practices is to ensure that you have an inventory of all the systems, including:

IP addresses

Physical Locations

Function

OS Types

OS Versions

You'll need to keep that inventory up to date, and there are commercial tools to help make the process easier.

Standardize

You'll also want to create a plan to help regulate production systems, so everything is using the same OS and software. While not everything will be the same, the fewer versions that are running, the easier it will be later.

List

Security is essential, so make sure you list all the security controls you have, which can include anti-virus, IDSes, and firewalls, along with their configurations. Including nonstandard and system hardening configurations can also help. When there's a problem, it can make it easier to respond.

Compare/Classify/Apply

Next, you can compare vulnerabilities against your lists. If you don't have a comparison option, our patch management product could be of use. Classify how big the risk is and if necessary, apply the patches. Contact us today to learn more.